In studying the Late Antique period there are different approaches: political history (fall of the West Roman Empire and its replacement by the Successor States), socio-economic history (e.g. collapse of an imperial aristocracy or the impact of plague), history of the weaking of classical culture, and a religious history of the establishment of the Church. None of these aspects stands alone, and they are all considered in this volume.

Ian Wood, University of Leeds, UK.